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Sunday March 5, 2017

Recently, I discovered some research that talked about the #1 reason why women were not getting promoted in the workplace. It had nothing to do with being a parent or incompetent or somehow inferior to their male counterparts.

It was something a little more surprising, yet ultimately, not that surprising to me after working with so many women over the last 9 years (and if you are male reading this, this isn't immune to you either, it just seems to affect women more directly. Nonetheless, it's worth reading about.)

As a coach of coaches and an entrepreneur myself, I see this reason plaguing the industry and literally stealing people’s dreams day by day. I know that it had stolen mine for many years.

It’s something that no one can give nor take away from any of us, yet it feeds into so many minds like a viral epidemic.

The issue: Confidence… or more specifically, lack there of it.

In a recent article from The Atlantic they looked at multiple studies done on confidence between the sexes and how it shows up in the workforce.

"Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology."

Yes, as the article points out… "A growing body of evidence shows just how devastating this lack of confidence can be. Success, it turns out, correlates just as closely with confidence as it does with competence.”

Whether you are a male or female is actually irrelevant to this topic, the fact is, if you lack confidence in your abilities to perform in your business, your business will suffer.

I’ve seen this through and through in my own business and in the business’s of my clients and colleagues. Coaches who are more than qualified still not having confidence in their abilities and doubting themselves.

This doubt is what creates the energetic resistance that blocks what coaches want most: a successful thriving coaching business.

Here is how lacking confidence as a coach shows up in your business:

You...

procrastinate on getting your marketing out there

don’t take advantage of opportunities that are on your doorstep

don’t reach out to be featured in that publications because, ‘who would listen to me anyways?’

shy away from self promotion because you may come across as ‘full of yourself’

are afraid to ask for the sale

underprice and undercut yourself

don't follow up with people

don't accept and/or you brush off compliments on your work, abilities or progress...

The list goes on and on but you probably get the drift by now.

Having confidence in yourself and your abilities is paramount to your success as a coach and as an entrepreneur. You must be willing to step out and promote yourself or else you’ll be struggling to get business for the rest of your career.

One exercise that I have clients do to help them gain confidence immediately is to actually list everything they have accomplished so far in their business including things like:

certifications they hold

business they have already attained

scary sales conversations they had

client success stories (even if those clients were free)

their own story of success overcoming whatever it is they help people with

their current business achievements (like setting up their website, getting press, doing a talk or going live online)

a breakthrough in mindset

a price increase

When you look back at how far you have come to get where you are (even when you are new) you will see that you have a lot to be proud of and are better than you think you are.

It also helps to remember that your ideal clients don't know what you know. Sometimes it is easy to forget that you have an expertise in something because you are in it everyday, it's your normal. But the average person and specifically your ideal client, doesn't have the same knowledge level and that's why you can help them.

Lastly, taking action helps your confidence. When you take action in your business you feel like you are progressing and helping. So, go out, and take massive action to help others and watch your confidence soar!

Now, I would love to hear from you. What helps you to feel more confident in your business? Comment below!

Live Your Awesomeness,

Jennifer

P.S. If you feel inspired, I would love it if you shared this article with someone you care about who should read it.

User Comments

Jennifer Trask

Lizzie Moult You are so welcome. Know that you are not alone. But the great thing is that confidence can easily be fixed. Take intentional action, really reward yourself and remind yourself that you ARE doing it!! It works as a reward for your brain and makes you want to do more!! haha Good luck!

Lizzie Moult

Ok, confidence! So here I am wondering why I am not doing as well as I had hoped. I guess my confidence of putting myself out there on social media could be a little bit better. I have been a little hap hazard with it. Might be time to step it up. Thanks